Night Eating Syndrome – You Might Run across Other Night Eaters

The more you reach out and tell your friends and family about your night eating syndrome, the more likely you are to find others who have night eating syndrome, or who know someone else who has it. This may provide a golden opportunity for you to team up with another night eater. Working together to help each other stay on track and sharing and exchanging helpful strategies for reducing night eating will be positively reinforcing and may give you more hope for change.

NES seems to be genetically driven in some cases. This means you may even discover a family member who has night eating syndrome and who has been suffering alone. Some of our patients recall running into their mother or father at the refrigerator in the middle of the night. Others say that they remember from their childhood seeing (or hearing) a parent or a grandparent up and about and eating at night. Because NES was discussed even less in the past than it is today, any relatives who have the problem may be relieved to have someone like you to talk to about it.

Some people have no reservations about talking to family and friends about their struggles. Others, however, do not feel as comfortable. Some families are very strict about keeping their problems secret. If that has been the case in your family, you may feel that no one in your family wants to help you. But, there is help from outside the family; also you may be able to find help on the Internet.

An Internet listserv called “Nightgrazers” has a large membership. Members share their struggles and successes on a daily basis. Many have found comfort in this personal, yet anonymous, connection. They are dedicated to finding a way to change their eating patterns, as well as to accept that they suffer from a syndrome – one with which it is very hard to cope. There are members from across the Unites States and Canada, as well as from Great Britain, and other points abroad. To join, send an e-mail introducing yourself to the following address: Night grazerssubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk. The group moderator will get you started. You can write to them as little or as much as you are comfortable with, but the people who choose to participate more seem to get the most out of the experience.

Related posts:

1. Night Eating Syndrome – Getting Help from Others
2. Who Else Has Night Eating Syndrome?
3. Night Eating Syndrome – Getting Help from Your Friends
4. Mood Disorders and Night Eating Syndrome
5. Binge-Eating Disorder and Night Eating Syndrome
6. Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder (NS-RED) and Night Eating Syndrome
7. Night Eating Syndrome – Starting a Journal and Dealing with Family and Roommates
8. What Night Eating Syndrome Is Not?
9. Types of Night Eating Syndrome – The Compelled Evening and Nighttime Overeater
10. Sleep Apnea and Night Eating Syndrome